Skype bringing group video chat - at a price

Brings in new monthly subscription models too

Skype has announced plans to overhaul its business model in order to better compete with a number of other VOIP services.

The main addition is the ability to group chat with video - something consumers have long been asking for, given it's available for free on Macs with iChat.

Skype is going to offer this service for free initially, but will begin charging in the near future as it looks to pick up more revenue of the platform.

Cheaper deals

It's also rolling out a number of new tariffs designed to cater for people that like to call at different times of the day - while still claiming that it will lower prices by up to 60 per cent.

The new move will allow more people in a greater number of countries - up from 40 to 170 - to not only call landlines, but mobiles as well using VOIP.

This move is key for the future of Skype, after it was bought from eBay for £1.3billion last September - improving the subscription model and adding in new features is pivotal if it wants to be a successful proposition in the future.